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BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



CONVERSATIONS 



ABOUT THE 



BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
revised *by the Committee of Publication. 




BOSTON : 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository No. 13 Cornhill. 

1840. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, 

By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



1 



. S i i*M 



THE 

BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



Anna. Mother, I wish I could go 
into Miss B.'s class at the Sabbath 
school. 

Mother. Why, Anna, are you not 
satisfied with your own teacher ? 

Anna. I think she is a very good 
lady, but after I have said my lessons, 
she does not converse with me, and 
tell me all about it, and let me ask her 
questions, as Miss B. does her class. 

Mother. But, Anna, how do you 
know what Miss B. says to her class? 
1* 



O CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

Anna. Why, after I have got through 
with my lesson, then I sit still and lis- 
ten ; and Miss B. sits right behind me, 
so I can hear all she says. 

Mother. I am glad, my dear, that 
you have a desire to gather all the 
knowledge you can ; I hope, too, you 
will be profited by it ; and you know 
1 am always happy to afford you 
any assistance I can at home respect- 
ing your lessons, when you wish to 
receive it. 

Anna. Well, dear mother, you know 
I have got through with the second 
chapter of Luke, and I can say every 
word ; but there are a great many 
things in that chapter which I do not 
understand. Will you let me begin 
now to ask you some questions ? 

Mother. Certainly, my dear ; so let 
us take the Bible and look up to God 
for a blessing on the instructions which 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 7 

mav be given from it, and I think we 
may pass a very pleasant and profitable 
evening. 

Anna. Mother, do you always 
pray, when you are going to read the 
Bible ? 

Mother. My child, we ought always 
to ask God to enlighten our under- 
standings, when we are about to read 
his word ; for unless we have his Spirit 
to instruct us, and teach us its mean- 
ing, it will do us but little good. 

Anna. Well, now I guess I know 
the reason why Miss B. always sits a 
little while with her eyes shut, just as 
if she was praying in her mind, before 
she begins to hear her class recite their 
lessons ; and so when she talks, I sup- 
pose that God helps her, because she 
has asked his blessing. But my teach- 
er does not have time to do so, for 
she always comes in late, and then she 



b CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

has to hurry us, that we may get 
through. 

Mother. Well, Anna, I will tell you 
what you can do. While you are wait- 
ing for your teacher to come, you can 
shut your eyes and look up to God and 
ask him to give his Spirit to her, that 
she may be prepared to meet her class ; 
and to grant it also to you, and your 
class, that you may improve by all the 
instruction which may be given. 

Anna. So I can, dear mother, and 
I will begin next Sabbath. 

Mother. Well, what is your first 
question ? 




THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 9 



THE TAXING. 




Anna. Who was Caesar Augustus ? 

Mother. He was the Roman em- 
peror, my dear. 

Anna. Well, why did he wish to 
have all the world taxed ? 

Mother. Augustus was then taking 
a census of the people. 

Anna. But I don't see why they 
should go away from the place w 7 here 
they lived, every one into his own 
city. 

Mother. You will find your answer 
in the next verse, Anna, w 7 here it says 



10 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

that " Joseph went up from Galilee, 
out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 
unto the city of David, which is called 
Bethlehem, because he was of the 
house and lineage of David." When 
a census was taken among the Jews, 
it was made by tribes, clans, and fam- 
ilies, but as they had been so scattered 
and separated, it seemed highly neces- 
sary now, that they should betake 
themselves each one to the place 
w r hich had formerly fallen to the lot of 
his clan, or family, all which could be 
known from the genealogical tables, 
which were kept by the Jews with 
remarkable exactness. 

Anna. What is a genealogical table, 
mother ? 

Mother. It is a list of ancestors ; an 
account or history of the rise, pro- 
gress, and present state of any person's 
family, showing the regular descent. 



THE BABE Of BETHLEHEM. 11 

Anna. Were the Jews obliged to 
keep such tables? 

Mother* The providence of God, 
who overrules all events, may be very 
clearly seen in this thing. It had been 
foretold from what tribe and family the 
Messiah should spring, and though it 
might appear like pride in the Jews, to 
keep with so much exactness the line 
of their ancestry, yet this alone was 
the very thing which was necessary, to 
prove that the Babe of Bethlehem who 
was about to appear was He of whom 
the prophets wrote so many hundred 
years before. 

Anna. Then I suppose that Joseph 
went to Bethlehem to be taxed be- 
cause his family used to live there. 

Mother. Joseph and Mary, though 
so very poor, belonged to the line of 
David ; of course it was necessary to 
repair to the city of David in order to 



12 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

be enrolled, or have their names writ- 
ten in their order among that line. 

Anna. Was David, Joseph's fath- 
er? 

Mother. No, Anna ; he was not the 
father of Joseph, for David lived a great 
many hundred years before Joseph 
was born ; but as I said before, Joseph 
belonged to the same line or family. 
You have frequently heard your father 
speak of the first settlers of this country, 
who came from England, and settled 
at Plymouth. They were called our 
forefathers ; afterwards they died and 
left children ; then those children died, 
and left other children, and so on, until 
we were born. If you will read the 
first chapter of Matthew, you will see 
how it was as it regards the ancestry 
of Joseph. 

Anna. The first chapter of Mat- 
thew ! mother ? Why, that is only a 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 13 

chapter of hard names. I don't see as 
I could learn any thing from that. 

Mother. It is a very important chap- 
ter, my dear, and if you will look at 
the sixth verse, you will find that Da- 
vid's name is mentioned as then born, 
and as you read on, you will find that 
there were many generations between 
David and Joseph, but that they, were 
all connected, or related ; and you can 
see also how it was that Joseph be- 
longed to the line or house of David. 

Anna. Well, mother, I never thought 
before that there was any thing in those 
hard names, which could be useful to 
any body. 

Mother. All Scripture is given by 
inspiration of God; and whatever he 
has caused to be written, is of vast 
importance. You will find nothing 
superfluous, — nothing unnecessary in 
that blessed book. 
2 



14 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



JOSEPH AND MARY AT BETHLEHEM, 
AND JESUS'S BIRTH. 

Anna. How far did Joseph and 
Mary have to go when they went to 
be taxed ? 

Mother. Nazareth was about sixty 
or seventy miles from Bethlehem. 
Nazareth was in Galilee ; and the 
city of David, or Bethlehem, was in 
Judea. 

Anna. I should have thought that 
if Joseph and Mary had gone to the 
town which belonged to their ancestors, 
they could have found somebody who 
knew them, and who would invite them 
to stay with them in a house ; but it 
says in this chapter, that when Jesus 
was born, they laid him in a manger, 
because there was no room for them in 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 15 

the inn. I am sure they must have 
been very unkind people, and very dif- 
ferent from what folks now are ; for you 
remember when father went to B — , 
after dear grandpa died, he told us how 
earnest all the neighbors were to have 
him stay with them. One would want 
him, — another would beg him to stay 
with them, and he said he could hardly 
get away. 

Mother. All this 1 remember; but 
suppose, Anna, your father should 
have a call to go to Plymouth, a place 
which he has never seen, do you sup- 
pose that he would meet with the same 
reception ? 

Anna. Why, if there was no one 
there who knew him, I suppose he 
would not. But then he could go to 
a hotel. 

Mother. Let me ask you another 
question. Supposing that about the 



16 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

time he arrived at Plymouth, a great 
many hundred strangers who had more 
money than your father, should arrive 
also, and occupy all the room which 
could be possibly found at any hotel 
or public house ; what could he do 
then ? 

Anna. Why, then he would have 
to stay where he could. 

Mother. Well, my dear, this was 
just the case with Joseph and Mary. 
They were strangers to all who lived 
in that place; and as very many others 
had also flocked to Bethlehem in order 
to be taxed, it is very likely that every 
house and inn were filled by those who 
could best afford to pay for their ac- 
commodation ; so that the poorer class 
as they arrived, w r ould be obliged to 
put up with any place which would 
afford them a shelter. 

Anna. Do you think the manger, 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 17 

where thev laid the infant Jesus, was 
anv thing like the one which I used to 
see in the stable at grandpa's ? 

Mother. I think not, Anna. In 
the East there are many natural and 
artificial caves which are used for many 
different purposes ; some of them have 
been used for sepulchres, and some for 
a retreat for herdsmen and their cattle 
in bad weather, and especially in win- 
ter nights, and often travelers, when 
other accommodations could not be 
found, would occupy these caves as a 
shelter for themselves, and also convert 
them into a stable for their cattle. In 
some of those caverns, a rude manger, 
or excavation hollowed out of the sides 
is seen, which might answer very well 
for the purpose of feeding their cattle ; 
though by some it is supposed, that 
these places were appropriated by the 
ancient inhabitants to bury their dead. 
2* 



18 



CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



There are many of these caves in Ju- 
dea, and it is very probable that it was 
in such a one that Joseph and Mary 
found a lodging, and that in one of 
these excavations round the sides Jesus 
was laid. 




THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 19 



THE SHEPHERDS. 



Anna. Well, now I want to ask 
you about the shepherds. I don't see 
why they staid all night in the field. 
Do our shepherds have to keep watch 
all night ? 

Mother. In our country, Anna, few 
or none make it their exclusive business 
to tend cattle, as they do in the East. 
Among the Jews it was a custom to 
send out their sheep to the deserts 
about the time of the Passover in the 



20 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

spring, and bring them home again in 
the fall, so that they would be ranging 
the country for feed during the whole 
summer; and with such a custom, it 
was highly necessary that there should 
be some, appointed wholly for the 
purpose of watching over them, to 
prevent them from being lost or stolen, 
or destroyed by wild beasts. 

Anna. Did they have to stay out 
every night, mother ? 

Mother. O no. I presume that 
many would go together, and each one 
w r ould take his turn to w r atch, while 
the others slept. 

Anna. Well, I don't wonder that 
they felt afraid, w r hen the angel came. 
How do you suppose they knew it w r as 
an angel ? had they ever seen one ? 

Mother. We do not learn from the 
Bible that they ever had ; but when 
they beheld such a personage before 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 21 

them, clothed in robes of light, which 
no doubt was very glorious, they 
could not but think that it was some 
heavenly messenger. 

Anna. Were those shepherds Chris- 
tians ? 

Mother. They were certainly highly 
favored of God, to have the knowledge 
of a Saviour's birth first communicated 
to them ; and probably they were 
among the number of those who be- 
lieved what the Prophets had written 
respecting his coming, and were ex- 
pecting him, and were also ready to 
acknowledge him. 




CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



WHO THE PROPHETS WERE. 

Anna. I want you to tell me about 
the Prophets. How could they know 
about Christ, and when he would be 
born ? 

Mother. A prophet, Anna, is one 
who foretells what is to be, or what 
will come to pass; and before the Sav- 
iour was born, there were many such 
among the Jews, to whom God revealed 
all that he wished to make known, and 
caused them to write it down so that 
all the Jew r s could have a full opportu- 
nity of knowing what would be done 
to their nation. Isaiah, and Jeremiah, 
and Ezekiel, and Hosea, Joel, Malachi, 
and many others were prophets, and 
they all wrote concerning the kingdom 
of Christ. Micah, one of the prophets, 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 23 

tells the very name of the place where 
Jesus should be born, though he lived 
seven hundred years before the event 
took place. 

Anna. O do show me the place, for 
I can hardly believe it. 

.Mother. Here it is, Anna, I will 
read it. Micah 5: 2. "But thou 
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thousands of Judah, 
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto 
me, that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose 
goings forth have been from of old, from 
everlasting. 

Anna. You said that all the Jews 
could read and understand what the 
prophets wrote. Did the prophets go 
and ask the people to read what God 
had told them to write ? 

Mother. Tradition informs us that 
the writings of the prophets were at 



24 



CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



first, after having been delivered, affix- 
ed to the door of the temple, where 
they continued some time, so that every 
one who went to the temple to worship 
could have an opportunity of reading 
them, and afterwards they were taken 
down and entered in their registers; 
but it is not certain that this was the 
case. However, the prophetical writ- 
ings were always read in the temple, 
just as the Bible is read in our churches; 
and every Jew had an opportunity of 
hearing. 




THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 25 



WHY THE ANGELS BROUGHT GOOD 
TIDINGS. 

Anna. Why did the angels say they 
brought good tidings ? did none but the 
angels know that the Babe was Jesus 
Christ? 

.Mother. Perhaps none knew that 
he was born ; Mary was a stranger in 
Bethlehem, and the Jews, who were 
looking for a temporal Saviour, would 
rather expect that his birth-place would 
be in a palace or in some costly abode ; 
of course, they would feel no interest 
in an infant, born of such lowly 
parents, and cradled in a manger, had 
they heard of the event. 

Anna. Did the Jews desire the 
Saviour to come, mother ? 

Mother. The Jews were under 
3 



26 



CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



subjection to the Romans, and as the 
prophets had declared that the Messiah 
should be born about this time, and 
would be a Prince and a Saviour, they 
had formed the expectation that he 
was to come in order to deliver them 
from the bondage of the Romans, and 
make them again a free nation, and be 
their ruler, or king. Such a Saviour 
they desired. 




THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. Mi 



HOW THE JEWS RECEIVED THE 
SAVIOUR. 

Anna. Then I suppose they were 
very glad when the shepherds told 
them what the angels said. 

Mother. The greater part of them, 
Anna, would not believe any thing 
about it. They were too proud to be- 
lieve that their long-expected Messiah 
should be the child of parents so 
obscure as Joseph and Mary ; so they 
rejected him altogether. 

Anna. I should have thought, moth- 
er, that they would have believed, 
when the shepherds told them how 
the angels sung and rejoiced. 

Mother. The proud heart of man 
often rejects the testimony of Heaven. 

Anna. Well, I love to hear about 
those shepherds, because they believed; 



28 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

and I don't wonder they wanted to go 
directly to Bethlehem. They did not 
doubt that they should find Jesus 
there, as the angels told them, — did 
they, mother? 

Mother. We read that they came 
with haste ; they left their flocks and 
all their cares behind, intent only on 
one thing, — to find their Saviour ; and 
this, dear Anna, is the duty of every 
one who has heard any thing about 
him ; they ought to make it their first 
and highest object to seek him, and 
then, when they have found a Saviour, 
and acknowledged him, they will do 
as the shepherds did, — return to their 
business with hearts prepared to glorify 
God. 

Anna. Well, it does seem very 
strange to me, that every body did not 
believe, when the angels told the 
shepherds just how and where they 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 29 

should find him ; and when they found 
it to be just as the angels said, and told 
the people all about it — that they would 
not believe that he was the Saviour ; 
were not the Jews more wicked than 
we are, mother ? for I am sure I believe 
all about it. 



3* 




30 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



BELIEVING IN JESUS. 

Mother. It is one thing, dear Anna, 
to believe that the Saviour was born, 
but quite another thing to receive him 
as our Saviour, to deliver us from sin ; 
and every one who does not give up 
his whole heart to him, or refuses to 
obey his commands, rejects him as a 
Saviour, as much as the Jews rejected 
him as their Deliverer. 

Anna. The Bible says, that all they 
who heard these things wondered, but 
Mary kept them and pondered them in 
her heart. 

Mother. Yes, the people heard the 
story of a Saviour's birth, and wondered 
at all the things which had been related, 
but we do not read that they believed, 
or owned him as their Saviour ; and 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 31 

this is just what too many people do 
now. Many go to the house of God 
every Sabbath, and listen to his minis- 
ters as they hold forth a Saviour ; they 
are invited and entreated every one 
to believe on him, and own him, that 
their sins may be pardoned, — and what 
is the effect ? They hear, and wonder ; 
but they go their way, one to his farm 
and another to his merchandize, — and 
so they perish. 

Anna. Well, if I was grown to be 
a woman, I am sure that I should not 
do so. 

Mother. Anna, do you remember 
when Mr. B. preached a sermon in our 
church, addressed wholly to Sabbath 
school children, from this text, " Suffer 
the little children to come unto me and 
forbid them not ?" 



32 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 




Anna. O yes, mother. And I re- 
member how many stories he told of 
good children, who loved the Saviour, 
and became pious while they were 
attending the Sabbath school, and how 
happy some of them were when they 
died. 

Mother. Well ; what else did he 
say? 

Anna. Why, he said if all the chil- 
dren in our school would go to Jesus 
then, and give their hearts to him, and 
begin that day to love and obey him, 
that they too would be happy in life, 
and happy when they died ; and then, 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 33 

mother, you know he told us all about 
what Jesus had done, and how he died 
on the cross for children, and for every 
body. O, I wish Mr. B. would come 
and preach again, for I admire to hear 
him. 

Mother. Do you not think, Anna, 
that some of the Jews admired to sit 
and hear the shepherds tell their story, 
about the infant Saviour ? 

Anna. O yes, I suppose they did ; 
but what good would that do ? You 
know they did not believe. 

Mother. Did you believe Mr. B. 
when he told how much Jesus had done 
and suffered, that little children might 
be saved ? 

Anna. Certainly I did, dear mother, 
why, how could I help believing ? Mr. 
B. would not tell an untruth. 

Mother. Well, did you begin that 
day to love and serve the Saviour, 



34 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

to give up your heart to him, to seek 
him by prayer; in short, are you a 
Christian? 

Anna. Why, 1 am only a little girl, 
mother ; you know that I am not quite 
ten years old. 

Mother. Are you too young to die, 
my dear Anna ? 




Anna. No, I am not too young to 
die, because you know that Mr. B. told 
about those little girls, and a little boy, 
who died before they were as old as I 
now am. 

Mother. I am glad that you re- 
member that ; and those dear children 



THE BABE OF BBTHI1H1M. 35 

knew what it was, to believe in a Sav- 
iour. They had given their hearts to 
him before they were as old as you are; 
they had tasted of his dying love, and 
when laid on a bed of death, they en- 
joyed his presence and the smiles of 
his countenance, and went dow r n to the 
grave, fully assured that their happy 
spirits would live for ever with him in 
heaven. All this, my dear daughter 
remembers and believes, and wonders 
at it, yet excuses herself from loving 
Christ because she is a little girl not 
quite ten years of age ! Do you not 
begin to feel that there may be some- 
thing in your heart, which may be 
very like what the Jews had in theirs, 
and which renders you guilty before 
God? 

Anna. What is it, mother ? 

Mather. It is your heart itself, that 
heart which hates holiness, and loves 



36 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

sin. Every heart which is not renewed 
by the Holy Spirit, continually rejects 
God, rejects the Saviour, chooses to 
indulge its own inclinations, and will 
not bow to the commands of Christ. 
It was this, which prevented the Jews 
from acknowledging the Messiah ; it is 
this which prevents sinners from com- 
ing to him now, both old and young ; 
all are without excuse ; for all are sin- 
ners, and need a Saviour ; and as soon 
as that Saviour is made known to little 
children, it is their duty to love and 
serve him with their whole heart ; and 
I am sure that Sabbath school children 
can never say, that they, of all others, 
have not been early taught the way 
which leads to heaven ; and if they die 
with an unholy heart, and go and stand 
before the judgment-seat, they can have 
no excuse to offer for rejecting the 
blessed Saviour. 



T H t B A B E O V IJ E T H L K li E M . 37 

Anna. 'W^ ill children have to stand 
at the judgment-seat, mother ? I 
thought that only very wicked people 
would have to go there. 

Mother. Here, Anna, take the 
Bible and read these verses in Rev. 
20: 11—15. 




[Anna reads.] " And I saw a great 
white throne, and him that sat on it, 
from whose face the earth and the 
heaven fled away ; and there was found 
no place for them. And I saw the 
dead, small and great, stand before 
4 



38 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

God ; and the books were opened ; and 
another book was opened, which is the 
book of life : and the dead were judged 
out of those things which were written 
in the books, according to their works. 
And the sea gave up the dead which 
were in it ; and death and hell delivered 
up the dead which were in them ; and 
they w r ere judged every man according 
to their works. And death and hell 
w r ere cast into the lake of fire. This 
is the second death. And whosoever 
was not found written in the book of 
life, was cast into the lake of fire." 

Mother. This, my child, is a true 
representation of what will surely take 
place at the end of the world. And in 
this awful solemnity none of us will be 
merely spectators. The small, as well 
as the great, will be judged out of those 
books which will then be opened ; and 
if your name shall not be found written 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



39 



in the book of life, you with others, 
must share the doom of those who amid 
multiplied privileges have died rejecting 
the Saviour. 

Anna. You make me tremble, dear 
mother, for I did not think of these 
things before. 

.Mother. I really hope you will 
think of them, Anna, and repent of 
your sins ; then God will give you his 
Holy Spirit to teach you his will, to 
sanctify and cleanse your heart, and to 
direct you in that upw r ard path which 
leads the soul to heaven. And now let 
us once more return to your lesson. 




W v 



40 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



THE PRESENTATION. 

Anna. How far was Bethlehem 
from Jerusalem ? 

Mother. The distance was not great ; 
about six miles, I think. 

Anna. What does it mean by pre- 
senting him to the Lord ? Was not 
the infant Saviour, the Lord? I do 
not understand this. 

Mother. I must again refer you to 
the custom of the Jews. Their law 
obliged them, when the first-born child 
was a son, to bring him to the temple 
at the end of forty days, and present 
him to the Lord. The parents were 
also required to bring a lamb for a 
burnt-offering, and a dove for a sin- 
offering ; or if they were poor, they 
were permitted to bring two doves 
instead of the lamb. Now it was to 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 



41 



comply with this law that Joseph and 
Man brought Jesus to the temple; and 
as they were poor, they brought two 
doves. As Jesus came into the world 
to fulfil all righteousness, it was 
proper that this law should be fulfilled. 
Though he was Christ the Lord, yet 
the Bible tells us, that he was made 
flesh, and dwelt among men. 




4* 



42 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



SIMEON. 

Anna. Now please to tell me about 
Simeon. What does it mean by his 
waiting for the consolation of Israel? 

Mother. It means that he was one 
of those Jews who believed all that the 
prophets had written about Christ. He 
had felt that the time had come for 
Christ to appear ; for no doubt he had 
searched out all which had been writ- 
ten respecting him by the prophets, 
and he had waited and prayed that he 
might be permitted to live until he 
should behold him ; so he was ready to 
acknowledge him, however humble his 
birth might be. 

Anna. The Bible says that the 
Holy Ghost was upon him. What 
is meant by this, mother ? 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 43 

Mother. The Holy Ghost, my child, 
means the Holy Spirit ; or it may 
sometimes mean the inward teaching 
of God in our hearts. Perhaps, in the 
case of Simeon, it was like the prophet- 
ic spirit which the prophets had. God 
had revealed to him that he should see 
the Saviour before he died ; and as he 
went into the temple just at the time 
when Joseph and Mary had brought in 
the infant Saviour, he knew and felt 
that the babe was the promised Mes- 
siah ; so, when he took him in his arms, 
he broke out into that holy strain of 
praise, which was a public testimony 
of his belief that the Consolation of 
Israel — the Deliverer — the Prince of 
Peace — had already come, to bless the 
world. 

Anna. What did he mean by say- 
ing, "Now lettest thou thy servant 



44 



CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



depart in peace, according to thy 
word ? " 

Mother. As the good old man was 




now sure that the Saviour had come, 
and that his people had received in 
him the greatest blessing which could 
be bestowed upon a nation, he was 
fully satisfied ; he was ready then to 
live or die. The angels had sung, 
" Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, and good-will to men ; " 
and now Simeon felt it in his own 
soul. With him, all was peace within. 
Just so did those dear children feel, of 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 45 

whom Mr. B spake, in his sermon ; 

they had found the Saviour, and then 
they were ready to stay on earth and 
serve him, or go to the upper temple, 
where they should enjoy his presence 
for ever. 

Anna. When he said, " Mine eyes 
have seen thy salvation," did he mean 
that he had seen Jesus ? 

Mother. Yes. Christ is the salva- 
tion of all who will believe on him. 

Anna. Who were the Gentiles, 
mother ? 

Mother. All who were not Jews, 
my child, as you will see from the 
declaration of Simeon, that Christ 
should be " a Light to lighten the Gen- 
tiles, and the Glory of the people of 
Israel." It w T as indeed an honor to 
that nation, to have Christ first make 
his appearance among them in the 
flesh, and to be called after their name. 



46 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

But the greater part of them refused 
to believe in him, and then the knowl- 
edge of him and his salvation was sent 
by his ministers or apostles to the 
Gentiles. These apostles went to 
them, and preached about the Saviour, 
just as our missionaries go among the 




heathen, and endeavor to enlighten 
their minds, and turn them from the 
worship of idols, to serve the true God. 
Anna. How did Simeon know any 
thing about the Gentiles ? Had the 
prophets written any thing about them? 



THE RARE OF BETHLEHEM. 47 

Mother. O, yes. Much is said by 
the prophets of the great salvation 
which should come to the Gentiles, by 
Jesus Christ. 

Anna. Please, dear mother, to read 
to me something which the prophet 
said about it. 




48 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



CHRIST A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES. 

Mother. As the evening is about 
spent, Anna, I shall not be able to turn 
to more than one passage at present ; 
but at some future time we will en- 
deavor to collect all the passages which 
refer to Christ, and talk over the 
matter further. The passage to which 
Simeon refers is in Isaiah 49 : 6. 
"And he said, It is a light thing that 
thou shouldst be my servant, to raise up 
the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the 
preserved of Israel; I will also give 
thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou 
mayest be my salvation unto the end of 
the earths 

Anna. What does it mean by 
saying that Christ should be set for 
the fall and rising again of many in 
Israel? 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 49 

Mother. The Jews, dear Anna, 
were a self-righteous people ; they 
trusted very much to their outward 
forms and ceremonies, and, with few 
exceptions, felt but little their need of 
a Saviour to cleanse them from sin. 
The doctrines of Christ would of course 
be contrary to all their views and 
feelings. Their hearts would hate 
these doctrines, and their opposition 
w T ould prove their ruin. If they re- 
jected Christ (and as a nation they did 
reject him), though he came to be their 
Saviour, he would, as the Bible ex- 
presses it, be " a stone of stumbling ; " 
they would perish, and their punish- 
ment would be much more awful than 
if a Saviour had never been known to 
them. But there would be some, even 
among the Jews, who would believe in 
him ; there were some who would 
receive his doctrines into their hearts, 
5 



50 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

and their proud spirits would be hum- 
bled, — they would become like little 
children, — they would love to sit at 
the feet of their Saviour, who was 
meek and lowly, and learn of him ; and 
so when they were broken off from all 
confidence in themselves, then Christ 
would exalt them, — he would honor 
them, and acknowledge them as his 
friends. 




THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 51 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

Anna. Was Anna a prophetess, 
like Simeon and Isaiah ? 

Mother. She is called a prophetess; 
but perhaps it only means that she was 
a very pious woman, who devoted 
much of her time to prayer, and search- 
ing the Scriptures, and to the service 
of the temple. 

Anna. Do you think that she staid 
all the time, both day and night, in the 
temple ? 

Mother. I think not, my dear. It 
is thought that she had lodgings very 
near the temple, and, as she was a 
very devout woman, she spent much of 
her time in that place (as there was 
access to it at all seasons), praying that 
the promises respecting the Saviour 
might be speedily fulfilled ; and as the 



52 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

worship of God in the temple was 
continued at stated intervals through 
the night, as well as the day, and 
anthems of praise were sung to his 
name, it is not unlikely that a woman 
so devoted as Anna was, would often 
delight to be present, and unite in that 
delightful service. 

Anna. Who were the people to 
whom she spoke about the Saviour ? 
were they Jews ? 

Mother. Yes ; there were some, as 
I before observed, who were anxiously 
expecting the Messiah, and who felt 
that the time had come when he should 
appear. Of course, so good a woman 
as Anna would be well acquainted with 
such ; and when she had seen the babe, 
as he was presented in the temple, and 
knew (perhaps by revelation) that it 
was indeed the infant Jesus, you can 
conceive with what delight and rapture 



THE BABE OF BETHL E H I M . 53 

she would spread abroad the tidings. 
1 almost seem to see this holy woman, 
forgetting all the infirmities of age, 
and, with a countenance beaming with 
gratitude and love, seeking out her 
associates, who had, with her, long 
waited and looked for the Redeemer ; 
and telling them that he had now 
come, and that she had seen him in the 
temple. 




54 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



JOSEPH'S AND MARY'S RETURN. 

Anna. How long did Joseph and 
Mary stay in Bethlehem, before they 
went back to their home, mother ? 

Mother. I do not know, Anna, that 
it can be ascertained correctly, how 
long they staid in Bethlehem ; but, 
from Matthew's account of some trans- 
actions respecting the visit of the wise 
men, and the result of that visit, it is 
evident that considerable time elapsed 
before they returned to Nazareth. (See 
Frontispiece.) 

Anna. Why did Matthew know 
more about it than Luke did ? There 
is nothing about the wise men in this 
chapter ; but now I recollect that I saw 
a picture of Joseph and Mary, with the 
babe, and some men kneeling down 
and offering gifts. O, yes, and I can 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 55 

remember now about reading in the 
Bible how they offered gifts, "gold, 
frankincense and myrrh ; " but I don't 
see why Luke did not tell about it in 
this chapter. Do you think that he 
forgot it, mother ? 

Mother. O, no, Anna ; but as they 
wrote their history at different periods, 
it could not be expected that they both 
would always mention the same cir- 
cumstances, or write in the same style. 
They wrote as they were inspired, and 
one would name one circumstance, 
another a different one ; so that, be- 
tween them all, we have been able to 
collect all the facts. 

Anna. I don't hardly understand 
you, mother. 

Mother. Well, supposing that I 
was to call on you and your cousin 
Harriet, to give me an account of the 
proceedings of the Sabbath school 



56 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

during the past year — all that your 
teacher had said to you, and all that 
you could remember of every transac- 
tion — you might both tell me the truth, 
and yet your accounts might differ very 
greatly. Harriet might be very brief, 
and omit many things of deep interest, 
which had been said ; and you might 
be much more particular, and yet omit 
the mention of some circumstances on 
which she had dwelt with great partic- 
ularity. Just so it was with Matthew 
and Luke. Luke says nothing about 
the wise men, and Matthew is silent 
respecting the shepherds, in whom you 
feel so deep an interest. 

Anna. Thank you, dear mother. I 
think I understand you now ; but don't 
you think that you could have time 
this evening just to tell me what Mat- 
thew wrote about the Saviour ? for I 
do want to hear a little more about it. 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 57 



MATTHEW'S AND LUKE'S HISTORY 
UNITED. 

Mother. As you seem to have a 
hearing ear, I do not know that I ought 
to disappoint you ; and if you will 
attend, I will endeavor to bring the 
history of Matthew into a connection 
with that of Luke, and make it one 
history, with the addition of other 
facts. 

Anna. May I ask you questions 
about it, mother, as you tell me ; or 
must I be silent and hear you ? 

Mother. If there is any thing which 
you do not fully understand, I certainly 
ought to be willing that you should ask 
to be informed ; for I think it very 
important that children should be made 
to comprehend all about what they 
read in the Bible, or it certainly will 
be of but little use to read it. 



58 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

Anna. Well, mother, please now 
begin to tell me what Matthew says. 

Mother. It is supposed that Joseph 
and Mary resided nearly two years in 
Bethlehem, after the birth of the infant 
Saviour ; but as they were poor, they 
appear to have been but little noticed. 
The only account we have of any tes- 
timony being given that he w r as the 
Messiah, was that of the angel to the 
shepherds, and their report, which did 
not seem to be much believed, and that 
of Simeon and Anna in the temple. 
When they had been about two years 
in Bethlehem, the wise men from the 
East arrived at Jerusalem, and made 
inquiry where he was, who was born 
king of the Jews. 




THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 59 



THE WISE MEN. 

Anna. Why were they called "wise 
men," mother ? did it mean that they 
knew more than other people ? 

Mother. I presume, Anna, that they 
were men of great repute in their own 
country, and had devoted their life to 
study, and, perhaps, were famous for 
their knowledge in astronomy ; and as 
they, while still in Arabia, discovered 
an extraordinary star, such as they had 
never seen before, they took it to be 
an indication of some extraordinary 
person born in Judea, over which land 
this star was seen to hover, in the 
nature of a comet or meteor, in the 
lower regions of the air. 

Anna. Did these men know any 
thing about Jesus ? 

Mother. No, they were Gentiles, or 



60 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

heathen ; but there was at that time, 
in the East! a general expectation that 
some great personage was about to 
appear, and that Judea was the land 
from which he was to spring ; and 
when this uncommon star, which 
seemed to hover over that land, ap- 
peared, their minds were directed by 
the secret power of God to follow its 
guidance. They were led by it to 
Jerusalem, and when they arrived, they 
made their inquiry. 

Anna. Did they mean to acknowl- 
edge him, as Simeon and Anna did ? 

Mother. Simeon and Anna acknowl- 
edged the infant Saviour, as him who 
should deliver them from their sins; 
but probably the wise men designed 
only to pay a homage or worship, 
which is generally given to kings and 
great men ; still it may be hoped that 
when they had found him in his low 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 61 

condition, God, who has the hearts of 
all men in his hands, revealed to them 
the nature of the mission on which 
Jesus came into the world, and that 
they received him as their Saviour 
also. 




62 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 



HEROD TROUBLED. 

Anna. What made Herod so trou- 
bled, when he heard the inquiry of the 
wise men, mother ? 

Mother. Herod was a proud and 
cruel man ; and when he found that it 
was suspected that a child was already 
born, who it was thought would be 
king of the Jews, he began to fear that 
he might one day be deprived of his 
kingdom, and have to give way to this 
new king, whose birth seemed to be 
made known in so wonderful a manner. 
Anna. Well, it seems very strange 
to me that Herod should not have 
known something about the birth of 
that infant. I should have thought 
that the Jews, and the high priest, and 
the scribes, would have remembered 
what Simeon said about him, when he 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 68 

was carried to the temple, and would 
have known just who he was, and 
would have told Herod. 

Mother. I have observed to you 
before, Anna, that though the Jews 
were expecting the Messiah, yet they 
expected him as a temporal deliverer 
to their nation, and that when he came 
he would come in a very different 
manner from that of the babe of Beth- 
lehem. That an infant, born of such 
obscure parents, and in such humble 
circumstances, should be their king, 
and the deliverer of their nation, they 
would not believe. So they entirely 
rejected him, and gave no heed at all 
to any thing which Simeon, or even 
the angels, had declared. 

Anna. But, my dear mother, when 
the scribes had read what the prophet 
had written about him, and had ac- 
knowledged to Herod that it was 



64 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

written that he should be born in Beth- 
lehem, how could they help believing? 

Mother. You seem determined to 
gain your point, Anna; but I can only 
continue to say to you that they did 
not — they would not — believe, because 
their hearts were madly intent on 
having a king to deliver them from 
temporal bondage; and because they 
would not believe, God gave them up 
to unbelief and ruin. 

Anna. Well, then, was not Herod 
better than the Jews ? for he sent the 
wise men to find out the babe, that he 
also might worship him. I guess that 
he began to be willing that he should 
be the king. 

Mother. No, he had a very differ- 
ent motive, when he commissioned 
them to go and search for him. You 
recollect that he inquired privately of 
them what time the star appeared ; and 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 65 

when they had told him, he concluded 
that the babe whom they had come to 
seek could not yet be two years of age, 
if that star appeared about the time of 
its birth ; and with this knowledge he 
then determined to destroy all the male 
children who were near that age, in 
and about Bethlehem, hoping that 
among the number the infant Jesus 
might also fall a victim, and then he 
thought that his throne would be secure. 
But he concealed his wickedness under 
a show of devotion, and so sent the 
wise men away on their search. How 
much they may have regarded Herod, 
at the time, w 7 e cannot tell ; but they 
went, and then the star, which had 
been so long their guide, still went 
before them, until, coming to Bethle- 
hem, it seemed to be stationary over 
the dwelling where the young child 
was. They then entered the house, 
6* 



66 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

and found the babe, with Mary its 
mother ; and then they fell down and 
worshiped, after the custom of the East, 
and presented their gifts, which were 
very valuable. 

Jlnna. Did Mary and Joseph wish 
to receive these valuable presents from 
such strangers ? 

Mother. We cannot tell, Anna, par- 
ticularly about that. But as, through 
the cruelty of Herod, they were soon 
obliged to flee into Egypt in a very 
hasty manner, in order to save the life 
of the young child, and as they were 
poor, no doubt these presents may have 
been very convenient to them ; and 
possibly they were given just in time 
to help them on their long journey. In 
this view, Joseph and Mary, acknowl- 
edging the hand of God in all things, 
would doubtless receive these presents 
as coming directly from him. 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 67 

.hum. After the wise men had 
seen Jesus, did they go back and tell 
Herod that they had found him? 

Mother* No ; God appeared to 
them in a dream, and bade them 
return to their own country by another 
direction ; and they obeyed. And 
here, Anna, is a proof that God reads 
the thoughts and knows the hearts of 
all men ; for, though the wicked Herod 
imagined that he had kept his design 
of cruelty concealed from every one, 
yet the eye of God searched it out, 
and defeated his wicked design. — After 
God had commanded the wise men to 
return home, he also appeared in the 
same way to Joseph, and bade him 
take his family and flee into Egypt, 
and remain there till he should give 
him notice to return home, saying that 
Herod would seek to destroy the young 
child. 



68 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

Anna. Did Joseph obey God ? 

Mother. Certainly ; he immediately 
did as God commanded. He sat out 
that very night, and went into Egypt, 
and there remained until Herod was 
dead. 

Anna. How long did they stay in 
Egypt, before Herod died ? 

Mother. It is uncertain ; but it was 
not a long season. 

Anna. How did Herod feel, upon 
being so disregarded by the wise men ? 

Mother. He was in a great rage, 
my dear ; and being determined not 
to be defeated, he sent out his soldiers 
to Bethlehem, and made them murder 
all the male children in and around the 
place. 

Anna. O, how cruel ! Why, I 
should have thought, mother, that if 
God had known what he intended to 
do, he would in some way have hin- 



THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 69 

dmd him. Do you think that God 
knew what he did ? 

Mother. Certainly ! There is no 
Set which is performed, which is not 
known to God ; but he often permits 
evil for some wise purpose, which we 
cannot always comprehend. 

Anna. Do you mean that God lets 
people be wicked, and do such cruel 
things as Herod did, and not punish 
them ? 

Mother. Sin always brings its own 
punishment ; and I should think that 
a heart so full of cruelty and malice as 
Herod possessed, would be a sufficient 
punishment in itself; but history in- 
forms us that God manifested his dis- 
pleasure of Herod's conduct by bring- 
ing on him very fearful diseases, such 
as could not be cured ; and that long 
before he died, his life was a burden 
to himself and all around him. 



70 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 

Anna. Why, what was the matter 
with him ? 

Mother. Josephus, a Jewish writer, 
informs us that he was seized with a 
disease which burned him inwardly, 
with great torture, attended with the 
colic, the gout and dropsy ; and that 
he was so offensive that none could go 
near him to attend him ; while, at the 
same time, he was so passionate that 
he was a torment to himself, and a 
terror to all who saw him : and yet 
he was so cruel, that just before he 
died he commanded his own son to 
be put to death. Knowing that at his 
own decease no one would mourn for 
him, he commanded that a large num- 
ber of the nobility should be put in 
prison, to remain there until he died, 
and then be slain, so that there should 
be mourning and sorrow at the time of 
his death, though they would not 



T II E B ABE O F B E T II L E II E M . 71 

mourn for him. And with such feel- 
ings as these, dear Anna, he died ; 
thus his naked spirit went to the tribu- 
nal of a holy God, there to be judged 
for all the deeds done in the body. 

Anna. O, how awful — how awful! 

Mother. Here we are brought back, 
to unite the history of Matthew with 
that of Luke ; for when this wicked 
king was dead, God appeared again to 
Joseph, and informed him of it, and 
bade him leave Egypt, and go into the 
land of Israel. So Joseph and Mary, 
with the infant Saviour, arose and 
went back to Nazareth, and there 
dwelt. Thus ends the history of the 
Babe of Bethlehem. The remainder of 
the chapter will give us an opportunity 
of considering him in another point of 
view ; but as it is growing late, if my 
little daughter wishes it, we will take 
another evening, and talk of him as 



12 THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

the obedient child, and about his visit 
to Jerusalem. 

Anna. Well, I shall long to have 
another evening come ; for I did not 
know before that such a good history 
could be made out of one chapter in 
the Bible. 

Mother. The Bible is a precious 
book, my dear, and it has one beauty 
which no other book possesses — it is 
always neiv ; and the more we study 
it, the deeper is the interest which we 
shall always feel in it; and it is my 
prayer, dear Anna, that you may so 
study it, that it may prove a light to 
your feet, and a lamp to your path ; 
guiding you to the Babe of Bethlehem, 
and leading you to accept of him as 
your Saviour and Redeemer. 




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